PATNA, Sept. 2 -- A joint team of Bihar Special Task Force (STF) and Gaya Ji police arrested two robbers from the Gurua and Dobhi police station areas of Gaya Ji district in connection with the August 11 robbery at the ESAF Small Finance Bank in Khitola, rural Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), and recovered 3.12 kg of looted gold ornaments, officials said. The arrested criminals were identified as Rajesh Das alias Akash and Indrajeet Das alias Sagar. Police said the high-profile heist, carried out by five helmet-wearing men - one of whom carried a firearm tucked into his belt - stunned the Jabalpur police administration. The robbery, executed within just 18 minutes, led to the looting of 14.87 kg of gold and Rs.5 lakh in cash, with a total value of over Rs.10 crore. The early morning incident, captured on CCTV, took place at a bank branch that had no security guard. At least five to six staffers were present when the gang, arriving on motorcycles, stormed the bank. The branch provided loans against mortgaged gold. Later, Madhya Pradesh Police arrested four suspects and recovered Rs.1.83 lakh in cash, a country-made pistol, four live cartridges, two motorcycles, and four mobile phones. Investigations revealed that the suspects had been hiding in a rented room in Indrana village. To avoid detection, they had allegedly created fake Aadhaar cards and posed as finance company employees to mislead locals. Police believe the gang had conducted reconnaissance before executing the robbery. STF officials said Rajesh Das was first arrested from Dobhi, and based on his disclosure, Indrajeet Das of Sherghati was arrested from Gurua. "Rajesh Das is involved in more than 14 cases of loot, dacoity and arms-related offences in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bihar," an STF official said. During interrogation, the duo revealed information leading to the recovery of a portion of the stolen gold jewellery, estimated to be worth over Rs.3 crore. On the other hand, the Bihar STF arrested former Maoist leader and dreaded criminal Manoj Sada from Raichur district of Karnataka. Manoj was recently wanted in the 2025 murder of Parsuram Kumar and the 2020 killing of Ramanand Yadav. Police said Manoj was also one of the main accused in the Khagaria massacre of October 1, 2009, when 16 farmers of Ichwara village were killed by armed CPI (Maoist) cadres. The massacre, the first major incident of violence during Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's tenure, was led by Maoist commander Budhan Sada, who was convicted by a Khagaria court in 2012. A resident of Pirpanti village under Alauli police station in Khagaria, Manoj was Budhan Sada's right-hand man. He was an active member of the banned CPI (Maoists) and had been involved in at least 15 incidents of Maoist violence, including abduction, murder, and arms cases, in Khagaria, Begusarai, and Saharsa districts....